The invention relates to an electric drive device for an aircraft, comprising at least one battery for storing electrical energy, an electric motor for driving a propeller, a conductive means for transferring the electrical energy from the battery to the electric motor, and a first control means for controlling the electric motor. This invention is used for applications in the aircraft industry.
Generic drive devices for so-called “electric aircraft” are known in the prior art. Initial such applications of electric drives can be found in aircraft model making. One focus of electric drives for aircraft is the storage and/or generation of electrical propulsion energy aboard an aircraft. By corresponding further developments of the battery technology until today, in particular by increasing the specific energy density [Wh/kg] of batteries, recently electric drives for aircraft have also been realized which are suitable for passenger transportation, for example. In addition to supplying energy from batteries to the electric drive, additional technologies are typically employed for generating electrical energy aboard an aircraft. The use of fuel cells for generating energy on board is known through the German experimental unit Antares 20E, a single-seater power glider with a propeller driven by an electric motor. Additional success has recently been achieved by a solar aircraft of the Swiss SOLAR IMPULSE project, where a solar aircraft with a span of approximately 64 m and having a mass of approximately 1.6 tons was operated by a pilot throughout an entire night. The solar energy absorbed during the day, which was converted into electrical energy and stored in batteries, made this flight of approximately 26 flying hours possible.